updated 12:26 am EDT, Fri August 22, 2014

Unlimited plan follows on new family sharing plan, contrasts savings against T-Mobile

With the exit of Dan Hesse and the appointment of CEO Marcelo Claure earlier in the month, Sprint is kicking into a new gear with a clutch of new offerings. Following on a new family plan structure, including a $100 plan with up to 10 lines and 40 GB of data, Sprint announced a new single-line plan that offers unlimited text, talk and data for $60 per month. The new plan follows on previous reports that a similar plan was in the works for $50 a month.

"People know Sprint for unlimited," said CEO Marcelo Claure. "We have long been the leader in offering customers unlimited data, and that leadership continues today with our new $60 unlimited plan. Unlimited talk, text and data for $60 is the best postpaid plan available. And, we've listened to our loyal customers; we're making the Sprint $60 Unlimited Plan available to both new and existing customers."

While Sprint will start offering the cheapest single-line plan on one of the four major carrier starting August 22, it doesn't come without a few catches. When examining the fine print, it shows that the pricing could be different from customers that already use Sprint for phone service. Those that are currently under one- or two-year contracts could pay up to $25 more for the plan "until they reach upgrade eligibility." The charges don't show up as a single $60 plan either, but rather separate $30 plans for voice and data.

The real kicker is that the plan doesn't include discounted phones. Customers will be required to purchase their phones through Sprint Easy Pay, or pay full price for a phone (or bring an existing device that compatible with the network).

Further examination shows that Sprint will limit throughput to make the experience better for the majority of its users. Data can be "limited, varied or reduced on the network." It also says that Sprint has the right to terminate service if roaming off-network exceeds 800 minutes or a majority of minutes, or if data passes 100GB.

In the release, the carrier didn't shy away from the competition either. While the company simply stated that AT&T and Verizon didn't offer the same sort of unlimited data plan, it jabbed specifically at T-Mobile's $80 unlimited offering. Sprint points out that customers can save $480 over two years when stacked up against T-Mobile. To take it further, the company makes it a point to call out T-Mobile's recent recruitment promotion that called for customers to "un-leash" their friends. Sprint customers can save $120 from the competitor's special pricing, "and they don't have to jump through T-Mobile's hoops and recruit their friends."

So 60 bucks is considered a deal now in the US? When I was on Wind, I had unlimited everything across both Canada and the US for 40 bucks and that included tethering. The only problem was the super crappy reception back home in Canada.

And therein lies the rub with the "less expensive, but unlimited usage" plans from second-tier providers -- coverage area.

I've got T-Mobile and while it's super-cheap and fast and unlimited, that usually only goes for when I'm geographically located within the bounds of a major metropolitan area. For example, from between the heart of Texas and New Mexico along I-10 (8+ hour drive), there's rarely a spot I have anything more that just voice coverage, and that's spotty at best and frequently disconnects mid-conversation. Neither AT&T nor Verizon had that problem on the same stretch of highway, and I got at least 2G the entire way, 3G much of the way, and 4G in some surprisingly rural places.

It's a sad reality that if you want good coverage nationwide, you have but two options (AT&T or Verizon) and you're going to pay for that extra coverage area. All the others have significantly less coverage, which affects those people who find themselves traveling in areas like the one I described.